Megatron And The Peaceful Solution
by Shebakoby
Summary: Megatron gets the idea to challenge Optimus Prime to one-on-one combat to decide the war once and for all after his Guardian requests he find a more peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict. Takes place prior to Prisoner Of Destiny. Set between A Plague of Insecticons and Heavy Metal War.


_*note: Takes place in my fanficverse, before Prisoner of Destiny, between "A Plague of Insecticons" (Transformers G1 Season 1 Episode 15) and "Heavy Metal War" (Transformers G1 Season 1 Episode 16)_

Megatron lay on his recharge bunk, staring up at the ceiling. He'd only been on Earth for less than a full stellar cycle, having been reactivated after millions of years in stasis. He knew he needed to recharge, to allow his processor to do the automated repairs and data cleanup, but for some reason he couldn't. An ache built up in his chest, as if his energon pump was about to burst.

It had been four million years since he'd last seen his Guardian Force, Starfire. The link they shared had endured through the stasis and reactivation. Organic Transformers were just as long-lived as their fully robotic relatives, so Megatron had no fear that she would have died in the interim. Despite his desire for conquest having driven them apart, he deeply missed her.

Megatron slid off his recharge bed and exited his quarters, making his way to the docking tower of the undersea base. Only Soundwave was in the control room, and the blue tapedeck nodded wordlessly as Megatron stepped onto the elevator. Of all his warriors, only Soundwave, the cassettes, and Shockwave knew that Megatron had a Guardian, and they were sworn to secrecy on the matter. It would not do for any Decepticon other than those to learn that Megatron was protected by something stronger. The Decepticon Leader didn't want them to lose fear and respect for him-he wanted to be viewed as all-powerful on his own. His Guardian had reluctantly agreed not to appear or come to his aid unless in the direst of circumstances, to keep the secret. As it was, she didn't need to cast Life3 on him anymore, as he was fully capable of casting it himself, now, and had been since just before he brought Cybertron into Earth's orbit.

He exited the docking tower, flying through the atmosphere of Earth until he reached orbit, just above the thermosphere. His choice of location was strategic-if he'd been teleported right out of his quarters, the energy would have no doubt been detected by the base sensors, and most of his troops would be in an uproar wondering where he'd disappeared to so suddenly. He concentrated briefly, his fingertips of his right hand against his forehelm, making telepathic contact with his Guardian. Seconds later, a blue teleport field enveloped him, and he vanished.

He reappeared on a sunlit world that seemed partially organic, but also partially techno-organic. A brief wave of dizziness took him, as he slowly descended to the ground from a few feet above it. He facepalmed as he remembered he should have shut off his optics before he was transported, to prevent that. He slumped to the ground to let the sensation pass, briefly shutting off his optics, and felt the rough wet slurp of a tongue on his faceplates. He reactivated his optic sensors and saw Starfire-in organic form, as usual-staring at him.

"Megatron!" she exclaimed, wasting no time and gripping him with her powerful paws in a bear-hug.

Megatron embraced his Guardian. "Starfire," he said, "It's so good to see you again."

"Indeed," she replied as she nuzzled him, her whiskers tickling his face plates, "What happened? Why were you out of contact for so long?"

Megatron took a seat on the ground, and his Guardian curled up around him. "I was deactivated for millions of years," he said, "We had left Cybertron, as I told you we were going to do, in search of more energy. We had followed the Autobots and boarded their ship, and during our battle it crashed on a planet called Earth. We were all in stasis until we were suddenly awakened by the Autobot computer, very recently."

Starfire sighed. She didn't like the war, and Megatron knew that. She wasn't permitted to assist him in achieving his goal of Universal Conquest, even if she had wanted to, anyway.

Megatron sensed his Guardian's discomfort. "Starfire, you know I'm only doing what is necessary to revitalize Cybertron."

"I know that," Starfire said, her ears slightly pinned back. She well knew that Megatron was the entire reason Cybertron needed revitalizing in the first place. "Isn't there a more peaceful way to resolve your conflict with the Autobots? Something that wouldn't result in more destruction and needless death?"

Megatron began stroking Starfire to get her to purr. She refused to for a short time, but then relented. For her sake, perhaps he should find a way, he reasoned, as he petted her.

The resonance of the winged puma's purring began slowly working on his processor, and a thought popped into his head. Yes, there _was_ a way. A way to end the conflict and win the war, without having to collectively fight the Autobots ever again. An old Cybertronian battle code-one that none had yet taken advantage of. The two leaders of the opposing factions could have a non-lethal duel, and the defeated party would be forever exiled, permanently barred from wherever the winner chose to live. Yes, that was the most peaceful solution to the war that Megatron could envision, as simply giving in to Optimus Prime and laying down his own arms was completely out of the question. The permanence of the solution made it clear to him why it hadn't been taken advantage of before-if he were to lose, it would doom the Decepticons and forever extinguish his ambitions as an intergalactic ruler. He'd have to ensure that he'd win. Of course, even though battle was involved, one last fight to ensure the ascendancy of the Decepticons and the relegation of the Autobots to deep space planetary backwaters seemed like a solution even Starfire would approve of.

"There IS a way," Megatron said, as he sat up from leaning against his Guardian. "Starfire, you're a genius! Thank you." He stood up. "I'll need you to teleport me back to Earth at once. There is much I must do."

"Leaving so soon?" Starfire wondered, as she rose to her feet.

"I will return," Megatron said, "But the sooner this peaceful solution is implemented, the better."

"Very well," Starfire replied, "I have missed you. Please don't be gone too long this time." She concentrated as a blue teleport field enveloped Megatron, returning him to the place he'd initially teleported from.

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**


End file.
